I wanted to set up a more introductory discussion where people can learn about the process of thinking that made some people concerned that an existence of a more powerful than human AI is not necessarily going to lead to good outcomes by default.

We are reading: http://intelligence.org/files/AIPosNegFactor.pdf

Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/494298400741977/

One important question that frequently comes up in considering probabilities and decision making processes is how do we estimate probabilities that are entangled with our own existence, aka, anthropic probabilities. An even broader question is the notion of probability an actually correct philosophical notion in this case or is the notion of a decision, algorithm or utility more fundamental?

I want to actually try and tackle a current unsolved problem (Sleeping Beauty) and attempt to understand it better and see if any progress can be made on it. There are several issues that are brought up here: a) What is the “correct probability”? Can we make situations in which one is better than another? b) Do we abandon probability? How do we update on new data in the case? c) Does considering “self” as algorithm vs “self” as instance make a difference?

Come and work on your personal donation decisions; with a partner or by yourself. Do research, run the numbers, and if you run into trouble, have a 1-on-1 discussion with someone about it. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1529586254029715/

Seattle Solstice Celebration, which will feature, compassionate communication, ceremony of songs, candle lighting and speeches. Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1694434594123474/

https://www.facebook.com/events/860474784017422/

We will be following: https://intelligence.org/2014/12/23/new-technical-research-agenda-overview/ In order.

The papers are independent though, so it's stop by even if you missed the first one.

This time we'll get to: 2. https://intelligence.org/files/TowardIdealizedDecisionTheory.pdf

Generally the format is to alternate reading a chunk and discussing it.